Hong Kong: The Dragon’s Back

Almost from the very beginning of our trip, Karl and I fell in love with Hong Kong.  We loved the unique feel of the city.  The international feel, the amalgamation of cultures, the size of the city.  We are used to Tokyo-home to approximately 13,000,000 people.  The vast megalopolis is amazing, but it can get tiresome. 

Hong Kong is home to more than 7,000,000 people.  Compared to Tokyo, Hong Kong seemed like a small city.  Not because of the population, but because of the physical size.  It is not that large.  The metro is itty bitty compared to the intricate maze of trains and metro lines we are used to dealing with in Japan. 

One of the other reasons we loved Hong Kong was because of how easy it was to get out of the city and into the mountains.  And how quickly you can get there.  When researching our trip before we left, we decided we would try to fit in some hiking.  We found one hike-the Dragon’s Back-in the southern district of Hong Kong Island.  In 2004, it was voted the number one urban hike in Asia by Time Magazine. 

We had to check it out. 

It took us only about thirty minutes to get to the trailhead from Kowloon.  We loved the hike.  It was not difficult at all.  We reached Shek O Peak with no trouble at all.  Our little guidebook told us that the hike would take about six hours.  It took us two and a half.  

At the end of the hike we walked along the beach and checked out this incredible ancient stone carving.  Definitely worth seeing if you do this hike.  We then caught the shuttle back to the metropolis.  

Back at the metro station, we spied an outdoor market and couldn’t resist walking through and looking at all the amazing food stuffs.  I would love to shop at one of these places for my groceries. 

Catching Up

The holidays are always a whirlwind of activities.  As soon as November came last fall, we seemed to be busy every waking moment.  Now that we’ve turned the corner into the new year, I have finally found my way back to blogging. 

Before sharing my holiday activities, I need to catch up on the rest of rest summer.  (Yikes-it really has been awhile!)

One of our final weekends last August studying Japanese in Okazaki was busy exploring some special shrines, hiking some mountain trials, and exploring an old castle. 

We began with the shrines. 

Fertility is a celebrated aspect of life here in Japan.  In addition to the special shrines, there are also annual festivals held to specifically celebrate fertility.  During our visits to these two shrines-one dedicated to each sex-we witnessed several families with new born babies, likely giving thanks for the birth of their healthy child. (I am afraid I do not recall either of the temples names we visited.)

The shrine dedicated to male fertility.

Shrine dedicated to female fertility. 

Pregnant women are supposed to crawl through.  If they make it, they will have an easy birth.

The castle we toured-Inuyama Castle-we discovered is the oldest standing castle in Japan.  It was built in 1537 (reconstructed in the 1960’s). 

After refreshing ourselves with some ice cream, we were ready for a hike.  On our way to the trailhead, we stopped to view some lovely waterfalls.  The two waterfalls are said to be a couple-one male, one female.  One of the waterfalls in quite loud while the other is quite quiet.  It’s up to you to decide which is which. 

Our hike was beautiful.  It left me longing for more time in the mountains. 

Miyajima Part 1: Mt. Misen

Just 30 minutes from Hiroshima by train, there is a famous island.  It’s name is Miyajima-宮島。 It is a popular day trip destination from Hiroshima. 

Though a small island, there is still lots to see and do.

We started the day on Miyajima with a ride on the rope-way to the top of Mt. Misen-the highest mountain on the island.  Mt. Misen is part of Seto Inland Sea National Park.

After waiting in-line for about an hour, we were on our way up the mountain.  The view was amazing.  Fortunately for us, it was a gorgeous day.  The sea reflected the stunning blue of the sky. 

At the top of the rope-way, we still had about a half-hour hike to get to the top of the mountain.  We took a little break when we reached the temples.  A word to the wise-make sure to bring your own water on this hike.  They sell water a the top, but be willing to pay extra for it. 

The building on the right houses the Eternal Fire, which has been burning for 1160 years.  That's  a long time.  The Peace Flame (number 18 on the map shown on the link) in Hiroshima's Peace Park was lit from this Eternal Flame.

Bad fortunes received in the temple are folded up and left behind. If you receive a good fortune, you take it with you.

 After just a little more hiking, we finally reached the top.  We soaked in the view and had a snack of ice cream (that was for sale at the top) before beginning our long hike descending the mountain. 

View from the top of the mountain.  The panoramic photo on top of this blog is also taken from this place.

Next stop, a temple and a shrine. 

After Oze

As we were leaving Oze National Park, we took a little side trip to check out this incredible waterfall. 

Check it out.

Approaching the waterfall-the river has carved the rock such that the waterfall turns in on itself.

From the other side.

The river-sculpted rock.

Beautiful!

You know it’s an awesome day when…

…you get a phone call informing you that your Thursday just became your Friday.

…the following Monday is a National holiday, which means a four day weekend.

…you get a phone call from a co-worker asking if you want to go hiking at a national park.

I was working one Thursday when the phone rang.  It was my manager telling me that, since I had attended all three of my schools’ sports days, I was getting Friday off.

Awesome.

This was particularly awesome because I had just been invited to go hiking at Oze Naitonal Park on that Friday.  Now I could say yes, I would join that hiking party.  Unfortunately because of such late notice, Karl could not get the day off.  Next time.

Friday morning we drove north to Gunma-Ken.  When we left at five in the am, the weather was beautiful.  Cool, crisp and clear.

Then we got to the mountains.  A massive dark cloud was looming just over where we were headed. 

We crossed our fingers.

When we reached the trailhead, it was pouring, cold and windy.  We waited till the rain let up, then started-hoping the weather would take a turn for the better.

We reached the first visitor center and met up with the rest of our party.  It started pouring.  We took a break and had some hot udon for breakfast. 

After a while, the sun briefly broke through the clouds.  We set out again.  

  

The sun dipped in and out of the rain clouds, teasing us for the next few hours.  We stopped at the next rest house to eat lunch.  It started pouring again.

We decided to cut our hike short and turn back early.  When we were almost to the parking lot, the sun came out to stay.  

Figures.

On the way home we stopped at a farmers market that had an outdoor foot onsen.  After hiking in the cold wind and rain, it felt amazing.

All in all, a fantastic day one to a four day weekend.